Resistance exercise apparatus

ABSTRACT

A resistance exercise apparatus includes a resistance ball rigidly attached to a first end of a rod, a resistance cup retaining the resistance ball to a proximity thereof and allowing the resistance ball to rotate relative to the resistance cup, the resistance cup having a surface profile substantially matching a surface profile of the resistance ball, and an anchor rigidly attached to the resistance cup for keeping the resistance cup substantially stationary during an exercise session.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of physical exercise apparatus, and, more particularly, to a resistance exercise apparatus.

Physical fitness is widely recognized as a key component to good health. Numerous kinds of exercise equipment have been developed to facilitate people's physical exercises. Conventional exercise equipment either utilize gravity or spring force to provide resistance to user motions. As gravity and spring force are generally one dimensional, such conventional exercise equipment have limited freedom of motion. As such what is needed is an exercise equipment that can provide resistance to great range of motion by a user.

SUMMARY

A resistance exercise apparatus is disclosed which comprises a resistance ball rigidly attached to a first end of a rod, a resistance cup retaining the resistance ball to a proximity thereof and allowing the resistance ball to rotate relative to the resistance cup, the resistance cup having a surface profile substantially matching a surface profile of the resistance ball, and an anchor rigidly attached to the resistance cup for keeping the resistance cup substantially stationary during an exercise session.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1A illustrates a resistance exercise apparatus in use in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B illustrates an alternative mounting structure for the resistance exercise apparatus shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the resistance cup shown in FIG. 1.

The drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification are included to depict certain aspects of the disclosure. A clearer conception of the disclosure, and of the components and operation of systems provided with the disclosure, will become more readily apparent by referring to the exemplary, and therefore non-limiting, embodiments illustrated in the drawings, wherein like reference numbers (if they occur in more than one view) designate the same elements. The disclosure may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the description presented herein.

DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a resistance exercise apparatus with large range of motion. A preferred embodiment of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1A illustrates a resistance exercise apparatus in use in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The resistance exercise apparatus includes a long rod 115 with a hand ball 112 on one end and a resistance ball on the end. The long rod 115 is made of a rigid material such as wood or steel pipe. Although not shown, the long rod 115 may be assembled from multiple sections for compact packaging as well as altering a length of the long rod 115. The hand ball 112 is for an exercising person 102 to hold on to and move it with his or her hands or other body parts. As shown in FIG. 1A, the hand ball 112 is spherical. In other embodiments, the spherical hand ball 112 can be replaced by a bar or a ring. The resistance ball 118 is for coupling the rod 115 to a resistance cup 124 which in term is mounted to a base 138 through a pole 132. The resistance ball 118 and the resistance cup 124 have matching surfaces so that the resistance ball 118 can smoothly rotate in the resistance cup 124. One way to achieve this is to make a radius of the spherical surface of the resistance ball 118 to be approximately equal to the radius of the spherical surface of the resistance cup 124. The base 138 provides a weight to the resistance exercise apparatus. The pole 132 is for raising the resistance cup 124 to a desired height for the exercising person 102. In embodiments, the length of the pole 132 can be adjusted by sliding a smaller steel tube in a slightly larger tube (not shown). As a result of the heavy base 138 and the rigid pole 132, the resistance cup 124 is stationary during an exercise. In embodiments, the resistance ball 118 is attracted to the resistance cup 124 by a strong magnetic force which causes a fiction between their contacting surfaces, so that the exercise person 102 would have to use force at the hand ball 112 to cause the resistance ball 118 to rotate relative to the resistance cup 124. Because of the spherical nature of the surfaces of the resistance ball 118 and the resistance cup 124, the hand ball 112 has a large range of motion, which is determined by the radius of the resistance ball 118 and the resistance cup 124 as well as a depth of the resistance cup 124. Larger radius and/or shallow depth may provide larger range of motion for the exercise person 102.

FIG. 1B illustrates an alternative mounting structure for the resistance exercise apparatus shown in FIG. 1A. Here the resistance cup 124 is rigidly attached to a mounting plate 152 which is secured to a wall 160 by screws 171.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the resistance cup 124 shown in FIG. 1. The resistance cup 124 contains a permanent magnetic ring 213 and an electric magnet 225, both are proximate to the surface of the resistance cup 124. The permanent magnetic ring 213 is for providing a basic attraction force, so that the ferromagnetic resistance ball 118 will not fall off the resistance cup 124 under its own weight. The electric magnet 225 includes a coil and an iron core. When a DC current is applied to the coil, a magnetic force will be generated. The magnitude of the generated magnetic force is proportional to the value of the DC current, the size of the coil and the iron core. The higher DC current, the higher the generated magnetic force. The larger the coil and/or the iron core, the higher the generated magnetic force. The size of the coil and the iron core are determined at factory, a user can vary voltage applied to the coil to adjust the generated magnetic force to his or her desire.

As shown in FIG. 2, a thin layer 202 with a shape matches the surface contour of the resistance cup 124 is provided between the resistance cup 124 and the resistance ball 118. The thin layer 202 is for providing a desired fiction level between the resistance cup 124 and the resistance ball 118 as well as protecting the surface of the resistance cup 124, as the thin layer 202 is replaceable. In an embodiment, the thin layer 202 is made of an injected nylon material with textured surfaces. The nylon material is relatively long lasting. Different texture may provide different level of fiction. The surface that faces the permanent magnetic ring 213 exemplarily has rougher texture than the surface that faces the resistance ball 118, so that the thin layer will not slide relative to the resistance cup 124 during an exercise. In one embodiment, the thin layer 202 may be secured to the resistance cup 124 by screws (not shown). In another embodiment, the thin layer 202 may be weakly glued to the resistance cup 124.

Although the disclosure is illustrated and described herein as embodied in one or more specific examples, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the disclosure and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the disclosure, as set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A resistance exercise apparatus comprising: a resistance ball rigidly attached to a first end of a rod; a resistance cup retaining the resistance ball to a proximity thereof and allowing the resistance ball to rotate relative to the resistance cup, the resistance cup having a surface profile substantially matching a surface profile of the resistance ball; and an anchor rigidly attached to the resistance cup for keeping the resistance cup substantially stationary during an exercise session.
 2. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rod has two or more separable sections.
 3. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rod is made of wood or metal material.
 4. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a hand ball rigidly attached to a second end of the rod opposite to the first end of the rod, the hand ball serving as a handle for a user during an exercise session.
 5. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the hand ball is made of wood or plastic.
 6. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the resistance cup exerts a magnetic force to attract the resistance ball.
 7. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 6, wherein the magnetic force is generated by a permanent magnet mounted in the resistance cup.
 8. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 6, where the magnetic force is generated by an electromagnet mounted in the resistance cup, the electromagnet having a coil, a ferromagnetic core and a controllable current source.
 9. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 6, wherein the magnetic force generated by a combination of both a permanent magnet and an electromagnet, the electromagnet having a coil, a ferromagnetic core and a controllable electric current source.
 10. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rotation of the resistance ball is resisted by a friction.
 11. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a thin layer sandwiched between the resistance ball and the resistance cup.
 12. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 11, wherein the thin layer has a first textured surface contacting the resistance ball.
 13. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 12, wherein the thin layer has a second textured surface contacting the resistance cup, the second textured surface being rougher than the first textured surface.
 14. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 11, wherein the thin layer is glued to the resistance cup.
 15. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 11, wherein the thin layer is secured to the resistance cup by screws.
 16. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 11, wherein the thin layer is made of a plastic.
 17. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the anchor has a weight.
 18. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 17 further comprising a pole having a first end rigidly mounted to the resistance cup and a second end rigidly mounted to the weight, the first end being opposite to the second end.
 19. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 17, wherein the pole is extendable in length.
 20. The resistance exercise apparatus of claim 1, wherein the anchor is attached to a wall. 